The parents of both defendants were present for the state Superior Court hearing. Polizzi turned to his mother and father while being led out of the courtroom, prompting his mother to look up and dab tears from her eyes. After her son’s back was turned, she buried her face in her hands and wept silently.

When Donofrio’s mother showed up at the courthouse and was told her son was being held on a half-million dollar bond, she fainted in the main hallway and had to be helped back to her feet.

Capt. Richard Conklin said the incident in Glenbrook took place quickly. A resident on Alton Road heard a knock on his door a few minutes after 11 p.m. and saw two men on the stoop. The two used a ruse to gain the man’s confidence by saying they had just struck his parked car and wanted to exchange insurance information, Conklin said.

When the man opened the door the two “launched into a viscous attack and beat him severely,” Conklin said. But the 46-year-old resident, who was home alone, had apparently armed himself with a hunting knife before answering the door and was able to stab Donofrio in the arm get the two out of his house.

The fight spilled out onto the front yard and several neighbors who heard screams and yells called police. The first responding officer saw Donofrio running down the street bleeding from the stab wound and took him into custody.

Officers processing the scene 90 minutes later found Polizzi hiding under a van in the back yard of the Alton Road home, Conklin said.

Police at the scene said the resident was beaten “beyond recognition,” with his eyes swollen shut and bruises all over his face and head. He was taken to Stamford Hospital, where he was treated for multiple fractures of the face and skull.

Police found a car belonging to Donofrio down the street and are processing it for evidence, some of which has been linked Donofrio and Polizzi to the crime, Conklin said.

Both men were charged with home invasion, armed robbery, first degree assault and conspiracy.

Police said the investigation was continuing and that investigators were trying to determine the reason for the assault.

“This was a very viscous assault and we are working very hard trying to figure the motive for this,” Conklin said.

Polizzi has two robbery convictions on his new York record, along with drug and larceny charges.

Donofrio’s attorney, Stephen DeLeo, argued that in light of his client’s clean police record the $500,000 bond set by police was “excessive.” DeLeo said Donofrio had a job and family and would come to court whenever scheduled. “It is way to early to make assumptions or rush to judgment at this point in time,” he said after the hearing.

Apparenly swayed by DeLeo’s argument, Comerford reduced Donofrio’s bond to $250,000. The two are scheduled to return to court Oct. 8 and may make a plea to their charges at that time.

Police also want to know if the two have been involved in other alleged criminal activity in Stamford. Anyoine with information is asked to call 203-977-4417.